Thursday, 2 June 2011

DECC Press Release: Green Deal to be best deal for consumers

New Green Deal Code outlinedGreen Deal advice line to be set upIndependent body formally appointed to ensure Green Deal assessors and installers meet robust new standards

Climate Change Minister Greg Barker has set out plans to ensure the Green Deal won’t rip off consumers.

The Green Deal is the government’s flagship energy saving plan to transform the country’s homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run. From next year, people will be able to access up to £10,000 upfront to pay for energy efficiency work, repaying the costs through savings on energy bills. Similar support will be available through the Green Deal for businesses and there will be extra help for vulnerable people or those living in homes which need more work than Green Deal finance alone will stretch to.The legal framework is currently progressing through Parliament under the Energy Bill and will be discussed at Committee stage in the House of Commons next week.Greg Barker said:“The Green Deal will be the biggest home improvement programme since the Second World War shifting our outdated draughty homes from the past into the future, so it’s vital people can trust it. I have heard too many cases of shoddy workmanship or dodgy technology from Government schemes in the past so from day one there will be strict rules about standards, information will be readily available and there will be a proper route for complaints. “We’ve already started putting in place the foundations for this and I am pleased the United Kingdom Accreditation Service has been formally appointed to ensure that installers and assessors will meet the necessary standards when the Green Deal starts next year.”In a new document published today entitled ‘Consumer Protection in the Green Deal’, DECC has set out its plans for consumer protection and redress.The document includes:

Plans to set up a new Green Deal Code – to protect customers at every stage of the Green Deal from initial assessment to installation.

Plans to set up a new Green Deal advice line – this will provide impartial advice and referral to accredited Green Deal assessors, installers and providers as well as a route for any complaints.

The formal appointment of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) – which will ensure assessors and installers adhere to robust standards in order to participate in the Green Deal. ﻿

A further two documents have been published today:Helping vulnerable people and hard to treat homes under the Green Deal‘Extra help where it is needed: a new Energy Company Obligation’ gives further information on the scheme’s twin objectives - how it will help the most vulnerable and how it will help deliver major measures, such as solid wall insulation, in homes which need more work than Green Deal finance alone can stretch to.

Eligible measures under the Green Deal

The document outlines the framework for determining whether a measure or package of measures are likely to be financed under the Green Deal. This sets out the process for determining which measures are suitable and eligible for a particular property under the Green Deal